New Skipper Candidate Scorecard

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Gwreck wrote: From Adam Rubin's Chat today: (http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/newyork/chat/_/id/35310) where he was asked repeatedly about whether Backman would be the next manager: If I can say it cryptically, I just think the Mets know things that are not circulated and don't feel comfortable. As I mentioned, sometimes organizations know things that are not widely circulated. I do not believe Wally Backman will be the next manager. I don't want to send everyone into a tizzy, but you hear things that you cannot report, but which point you to a certain conclusion. That's about as best as I can say it now. And I strongly believe Wally Backman will not be the next manager.

Wow?

There is more to the Wally Backman stuff is what he's saying?

[Guest Edgy DC]

He's an alien.

He's an alien homosexual klansman.

[HahnSolo]

Sounds like it, which leads you to believe something happened in the time since he was hired to manage Brooklyn. I imagine if they knew anything then, they would not have hired him in the first place.

(this is responding to Bucket, not Edgy)

[metirish]

Geez Adam , no 60 Minutes for you.

[Ceetar]

So he's heard rumors, which lead him to certain conclusions, nothing that anyone else knows and it's all circumstantial, and this either happened recently or is new information or is someone big enough to keep him out of Flushing but not out of Brooklyn?

[Guest Edgy DC]

The Daily News names the internal candidates:

A separate organizational source said that Wally Backman and third base coach Chip Hale will in fact be two of the internal interviewees, as expected, and could travel to New York as soon as Thursday or Friday. Other strong possibilities include scout and former Seattle and Arizona manager Bob Melvin, minor league field coordinator Terry Collins, Double-A Binghamton manager Tim Teufel (!!) and Triple-A manager Ken Oberkfell.

The headline and the source present Backman and Hale as the only two definite candidates. I salute Hale for making a name for himself in a short time and in an environment that is going to get most of his colleagues tossed, but if I'm Oberkfell, I'm a little peeved to see Backman ahead of myself in line.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Dave Jauss, Bob Melvin to talk to Mets By Adam Rubin ESPNNewYork.com The New York Mets will begin interviewing for their vacant managerial position Thursday when in-house candidates Bob Melvin and Dave Jauss open the process, the team announced. Melvin, 49, managed the Seattle Mariners from 2003 to 2004 and the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2005 to 2009, posting a combined 493-508 record. He served as a scout for the Mets this past season, monitoring the AL East and West divisions. Melvin spends his offseasons living in Manhattan, where his daughter Alexi studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in Union Square. "We have summers in Arizona and winters in New York," Melvin said in March before a Mets spring training game against the Atlanta Braves, as he began his tenure as a Mets scout. "You'd think it would be the other way around in a perfect world, but that's the way we've done it." Jauss, 53, spent last season as Jerry Manuel's bench coach with the Mets. He previously served in the same capacity for two seasons apiece with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers. He managed Licey in the Dominican Republic last winter. Jauss' managerial experience includes two seasons in the minor leagues with the Montreal Expos organization, in 1992 with Class A West Palm Beach and in '94 with Double-A Harrisburg. Mets GM Sandy Alderson said Tuesday that the Mets would begin conducting interviews with internal candidates this week, while interviews with candidates not currently affiliated with the organization would begin next week. Other internal candidates should include third-base coach Chip Hale and Class A Brooklyn manager Wally Backman.

[Guest Edgy DC]

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Mark Simon of ESPN notes the 1994 Harrisburg Senators outperformed their pythags by 10 games.

[metirish]

Interesting

Alderson will interview Backman in San Diego Saturday according to my internet sources , Sandy lives there?

[Frayed Knot]

metirish wrote: Alderson will interview Backman in San Diego Saturday according to my internet sources , Sandy lives there?

Yes he does.
Lives in SD, teaches in SF, and takes a job in NYC.

[Theoldmole]

Why is Oberkfell being given such short shrift?

[metirish]

TheOldMole wrote: Why is Oberkfell being given such short shrift?

Is he?, he is getting interviewed.

Clint Hurdle interviews with the Pirates today.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Sandy Alderson wrote: Dear Mets Fans: As you may have heard, today we interviewed two candidates to become the next Manager of the Mets. The process got off to a good start with Bob Melvin and Dave Jauss here for interviews. I'll be meeting with Wally Backman, Terry Collins and Chip Hale this weekend in California. We plan to speak with more candidates next week and hope to announce our new Manager as soon as possible. We will be back to you again with more information soon. Thanks for your ongoing support. Sincerely, Sandy Alderson General Manager

[Guest Edgy DC]

That's full of awkward phrasing and the capital M in "Manager" is just too much. That settles it. I deserve a big-time job ghost-writing these communiques.

The most egregious mis-step is using the past tense with "The process got off to a good start with Bob Melvin and Dave Jauss here for interviews." The unintionally implied subtext that leaves me with is "And then things quickly got out of control when we tried to talk to Tim Teufel. Tried to talk... What a tremendous asshole that guy is."

[G-Fafif]

It is my sincere hope that once Sandy settles down from his bicoastal teaching and travels, he goes through his in-box, notices they're sending out these ludicrous updates over his signature and puts an end to it.

This was going on during the GM search, so one assumes this is Jeff's (or Jeff's consultant's) brilliant idea. Or, perhaps, they anticipated Sandy would like this sort of communication and implemented it to impress him ahead of time.

Nothing ever seems what it's supposed to with this organization.

[Guest themetfairy]

At least when these inane communiques have Sandy's alleged signature I don't have a visceral reaction of disgust. I was tempted to write to Jeffy and tell him to leave me alone already when he was signing off on these with his own name.

[metirish]

NY Post reports that Hurdle is officially on Mets radar and Aldesron will be contacting him to set up an. Interview.

[MFS62]

metirish wrote: Clint Hurdle interviews with the Pirates today.

Speaking of Pirate managers, I was wondering today if the Mets might interview ex-buc manager Lloyd McClendon.
I liked the way he managed, considering what he was given to work with, and has a Mets pedigree. (Mets draft pick)

Later

[metirish]

This whole Mets pedigree is getting silly, from Riciardi's playing in the system thirty years ago to McClendon being a draft pick, it's daft. can he manage?, my memories of him are that he was very laid back and IIRC the word was he wasn't that good with the kids.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think anybody is implying that having a background in the organization trumps a poor performance at the big-league level.

[batmagadanleadoff]

metirish wrote: This whole Mets pedigree is getting silly, from Riciardi's playing in the system thirty years ago to McClendon being a draft pick, it's daft. can he manage?, my memories of him are that he was very laid back and IIRC the word was he wasn't that good with the kids.

I hear you, Irish. I can't figure out why so may fans are going gaga over the prospects of Backman as the next Mets manager. If they possess keen insights into Backman's managerial skills, then fine --- but to want Wally just because he played for Davey Johnson's Mets 25 years ago makes no sense to me. Bud Harrelson had the best Mets pedigree of any incoming Mets manager. And he was an unqualified disaster.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'll qualify that. He had a winning record, one of only five Mets managers to boast such, even out-percenting Gil Hodges.

His first year, his team had a better record than the previous year. His second year, his squad had a better record than the following year.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Bud was the first manager to give Dave Magadan a legitimate shot at playing every day. Mags' combined OBP under Harrelson was over .400. Still, I'm going with disaster. Plus, Buddy didn't bat Magadan leadoff. He should've.

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I still can't figure out why so may fans are going gaga over the possibility that Backman might be the Mets next manager.

Because he's "fiery" and "gritty" - and everyone knows that having those traits are the two most important.
Ollie wouldn't have refused his minor league assignment if Wally were managing; Beltran would have returned earlier from his injuries under a Wally regime; Wright's Ks will drop again because laid-back types like Art/Willie/Jerry kept forgetting to tell him to concentrate; all those Brooklyn players who played for him are now fundamentally sound and therefore will be ML stars within a few years; etc. Plus he learned from Davey so he "knows how to win".

Those are all proven facts so there's no point in rebuttal here.

[bmfc1]

Word today is that Terry Collins is the leading candidate. Why? Look at his track record:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/collite99.shtml

He's managed in Japan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Collins

If that's a qualification, I can think of somebody else who fits, and he's managed a team to a pennant.

[metirish]

Yeah, Heymand and Rubin have him as the" leading candidate" today, they change their minds daily though.

[Frayed Knot]

Collins is/was another get with a "fiery" rep. He got his first job in Houston, in part, as an antidote to the laid-back guy he replaced ... Art Howe!
IIRC, some Houston fans told me the players - vets particularly - got sick of him over time and he was eventually replaced by the lower-key Larry Dierker.


You get the opinion sometimes that the designated "leading" candidate is simply whichever guy the writers talked to or about most recently.

[metirish]

Newsday on Collins

With his Dodgers background, a managing stint in Japan and high motor, Collins, 61, is similar to Bobby Valentine. It's a comparison he's admitted to hearing many times. In spring training, Collins was praised by ownership for his boundless energy and enthusiasm as he constantly instructed players. With Alderson seeking a candidate with major-league managing experience, Collins also has that - six years total with the Astros (1994-96) and Angels (1997-99).

A hiring of DePodesta is seen as a boost for Collins the article says

[Frayed Knot]

From Bill Madden's column today:

So what happened with Bobby Valentine in Milwaukee? Turns out Bobby V never was the frontrunner to get the Brewers managing job ... and never got an offer. According to Brewer sources, Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio, who had at first wanted an experienced "name" manager, was talked out of Valentine by people outside the organization

- Peeps from other orgs? ... from MLB? ... from the Obama administration?

It is uncertain anyway if Attanasio would have been willing to meet Valentine's salary demands, but in the meantime Roenicke apparently wowed the owner in his interview.